Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce mandatory food waste reporting for all major food retailers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Resources and Waste Strategy the Government committed to consult on introducing mandatory reporting by businesses. We are engaging with industry and related stakeholders to inform the development of this consultation.
Due to the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on food and drink businesses, we have postponed the launch of this consultation until 2021.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to allocate funding to (a) research and development in sustainable fabrics and (b) fabric recycling facilities in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the WRAP-administered Resources Action Fund we made £1.5 million available for small scale capital grants of between £20,000 to £170,000 to encourage innovation and support the development of textile reuse and recycling. Funds have been allocated to organisations in England to invest in facilities to improve the reprocessing of textiles waste, including recycling of waste textiles to create recycled fibres for manufacturers.
With backing from Defra, £30 million of research funding (of which £22.5 million is Government investment) has been allocated through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to establish five circular economy research centres. £4.5 million has been allocated to a centre focused on sustainable textiles. The Interdisciplinary Textiles Circularity Centre, led by the Royal College of Art, aims to reduce our reliance on imported clothing materials by leading research to turn post-consumer textiles and household waste into renewable materials for use in textiles products. This programme will harness academic excellence and industry expertise to deliver for the UK.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the fashion industry to improve the clarity of information and labelling on the sustainability of clothing.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Resources and Waste Strategy the Government committed to providing consumers with better information on the sustainability of their purchases, including through better product labelling. In the Environment Bill, currently being taken through Parliament, we are seeking powers that will enable us to introduce labelling and information requirements for clothing, as well as eco-design requirements and producer responsibility schemes.
We have also worked closely with WRAP to develop the new voluntary agreement on textiles to succeed the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP 2020) from next year. Textiles 2030 was announced on 10 November and has ambitious targets, aligning with global goals on carbon, water and circularity and aims to drive the shift to a more resource-efficient textiles sector in the UK. Signatories will take action to improve the sustainability of their products in line with the ambitions of the new agreement.
We plan to publish our draft Waste Prevention Programme for consultation in the new year which will set out this Government’s approach to improving resource efficiency and reduce waste in a number of key sectors including textiles.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the recently proposed bans on the human consumption of dog meat in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, China.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
While this department has received representations about the treatment of dogs in China, we have not received any representations about the proposed ban on the human consumption of dog meat in Shenzhen or Zhuhai, China.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2020 to Question 46697, on Animal Products: Trade, by what date the Government plans to publish its response to his Department's consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to her on 19 May 2020, PQ UIN 46697, which remains the current situation.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timescale is for publishing the Government's response to his Department's consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies published in November 2019 and updated in January 2020.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a delay in publication of the Government response to the consultation and call for evidence on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies. We are, however, continuing to work on this important area and will publish the Government response as soon as it is practical to do so. The outcome of the consultation, and the accompanying call for evidence, will inform our next steps.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on ensuring the safeguarding and welfare of equines moving between the UK and the EU in a future trade deal with the EU.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Secretary of State meets regularly with his Cabinet colleagues to discuss a range of topics, including the future trade deal with the EU. As the PM has made clear in his speech of 3 February, animal welfare is a priority for the UK in trade negotiations. The UK is proud of its world-leading food, health and animal welfare standards. We will not lower our standards as we negotiate the new trade deal.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a common veterinary area to reduce the need for additional checks on animals at the border with the EU after the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
At the end of 2020 the UK will leave the EU’s customs area and the EU’s single market. We will maintain our own Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) system so that we can set our own rules and standards. The UK has been clear that the UK-EU future relationship will be based on friendly relations and free trade, not on the EU’s treaties or principles - there will be no regulatory alignment.
The UK and the EU may agree equivalence in certain areas to reduce practical barriers to trade at the border. However, this will only be done if the UK’s regulatory autonomy is respected and there is no role for the ECJ.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for the licensing of equine (a) sanctuaries, (b) rescue centres and (c) re-homing centres.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Animal sanctuaries and rescue and rehoming centres carry out important work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals are offered the opportunity of finding a permanent home. This includes those organisations caring for equines. Concerns have been raised by the sector about variations in welfare standards across the sector, and that some individuals prioritise commercial gain over the welfare needs of animals.
In England, Defra has been working closely with organisations such as World Horse Welfare and the National Equine Welfare Council and its members, to better understand the benefits and impacts, particularly on smaller rescue centres, if licensing or other regulation was introduced on the sector.
We continue to engage with the sector on these questions. Any proposal to bring forward such regulation will be subject to a full public consultation.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to issue the public consultation on welfare in transport and minimum journey times for animals for slaughter.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We have a manifesto commitment to end excessively long journeys for live animals going for slaughter and fattening, which is an opportunity we have gained through leaving the EU. We intend to issue a consultation on how we deliver on that commitment shortly.